BE A STREET-SMART ONLINE BUYER AND SAVE $$$

This page is dedicated to our customers and will be continuously updated: And the purpose is to blot out in black and white, the multitudes of UNETHICAL selling practices conducted by Ebay sellers that were discovered during our research.

When EA’s Collectibles was founded, we had made it a point to give our customers the best online experience ever! We had many bad experiences as customers ourselves and therefore we want to ensure our customers are never treated the same way.

1. Sellers often sell items at unbelievable low prices to attract traffic to their page (one-cent listing excluded). What buyers often do not know is that these sellers would raise their shipping prices beyond measure. Another reason they do this is because of the listing costs for the items in their stores. It costs almost double to list items above $25.00. They therefore lower their prices to 24.99 and bump up the shipping costs. This is UNETHICAL- In dealing with this practice; make sure you consider the shipping cost as well as the item’s price before deciding to buy anything from any seller! Compare the TOTAL COST of acquiring the item to your door.
2. Beware of SALES or MARKDOWNS!!! Very often, sellers raise their prices before marking down the prices. Ultimately, it would cost the same as if there were no sale. This is inherently UNETHICAL---In dealing with this scenario, make sure you find other sellers and compare the TOTAL prices of the same item.
3. Some sellers overcharge shipping prices. This is unethical. They do this because Ebay does not charge final value fee on the shipping cost. They would therefore make more money this way. Shipping costs are meant to be what the seller would have paid to the post office plus some minimal handling charges. Ideally, handling charges should not exceed $2 for orders below $25. To counter this issue, make sure you see the feedback breakdown; especially the shipping and handling charges section of the feedback breakdown. Other customers will share their experiences through the feedbacks they give to their sellers. 
4. To add their feedback scores, sellers often buy one cent wallpapers from other sellers with no shipping charge. In return, they get positive feedback. This is totally unethical. This practice is dishonest and does not promote a harmonious Ebay environment. 
                                                                                          

SMART BUYING PRACTICES/IDEAS:

1. The number of positive feedback score as well as the overall feedback rating in terms of % is crucial in revealing your seller’s honesty, ethics and commitments. Be sure to look out for the powerseller icon next to the sellers’ user ID’s because these titles are given to sellers who have displayed exceptional commitment in making Ebay community a safer and better place to shop and sell.
2. Get acquainted with your seller! Get to know them and test their communication capacity. If they faithfully correspond to your emails as well as hone your questions, then they will be more trustworthy to handle your special needs.
3. Go for shipping promotions!!! They save your shipping costs as well as you sellers’ time to ship orders. Both of you will benefit from this!!! Call up your friends and buy these items together and exploit the shipping discounts. Some stores, like ours (EA’s Collectibles), offer free shipping when you purchase above a certain amount of money. What better way to save money, especially on the things you love?
4. Read and evaluate negative feedbacks given to your sellers. Some negative feedbacks are not fair and therefore should not be considered as a flaw to your sellers’ integrity. Some negative feedbacks, however, if you learn from them, will save you many future problems that may arise in your transaction with the seller.
5. If you are planning to buy in bulk negotiate with your seller for a better price. Who knows what the deal would end up to be?
6. The feedback number besides the sellers’ name e.g. 300 tells you how many new customers the store acquired over the history of the stores’ existence (in this case 300). If a past buyer buys again from the store, the transaction will not add to the number. The transaction can be seen in the small feedback box that tells you how many positive feedbacks have been received at a time frame. Consider both numbers before you evaluate sellers.
   Auctions are a great place to buy stuffs at a cheaper price. However, make sure you visit the sellers’ store and check out the Buy it now prices in the store before you decide to keep on bidding. Why pay more?
7. For international buyers: Make sure you get quotes from at least two sellers if you plan to buy goods overseas. This will give you an edge up should any of the sellers try to overcharge you for handling (which is a very common practice and is UNETHICAL). At our store, we guarantee you that we NEVER overcharge shipping and we only charge very minor handling fee depending on the size of the order. We charge handling fees because orders abroad need more supplies like cushions and stronger boxes.
8. Subscribe to receive newsletters from your sellers. Doing so will give you an idea on what promotions are going on and what deals are available in your sellers’ stores. This is just part of building a great communication foundation between buyers and sellers.
   

This information is copyrighted and is solely the work of the agents of EA's Collectibles. July 15 2007.